A Migration Tale

What with the recent immigration-related government shutdown, and the ongoing debate about the infamous “wall”, I’ve been giving quite a lot of thought lately to “human migration” (as opposed to the more specific “immigration”). I give you my vow up front that this is not a politically themed post, but a family story, and I hope that you find it as thrilling as I do when I consider the details. A lot of my family’s adventures are straight out of a Quentin Tarantino movie, but this particular story is more along the… Read More

Heritage Album Project

Meet Benoni Stebbins, Puritan Bad Boy

I first became intrigued by Benoni Stebbins when I read a story about his early life that someone had posted on Ancestry.com. But the more I read about Benoni and his life and times, the more I realized that he was just one small player in a fascinating, and much larger global conflict. When I first started researching his story, it seemed to me that if his life were a movie, it would be a lighthearted comedy adventure, starring a young Mel Gibson, or maybe a handsome and snarky Chris Pratt, as… Read More

Hannah Feake Bowne, Not Just Your Average Quaker

Born: 1637, Winthrop, MA
Died: 1677, London, England
Sally’s 9th Great-Aunt

Boots On the Ground: Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941

My dad’s recollection of the morning of December 7th, 1941.

One Soldier’s Story

The amazing saga of PFC Paul Alexakis…

Tales From the Neutral Ground; James Lyon (Part 2)

Born: 1761
Died: 1850, Bedford, New York
Sally’s 5th Gr. Grandfather

Tales From the Neutral Ground; James Lyon (Part 1)

Born: 1761
Died: 1850, Bedford, New York
Sally’s 5th Gr. Grandfather

Tales From the Neutral Ground; Martha Banks

Born: 1764, Greenwich, CT
Died: 1849, Bedford, New York
Sally’s 5th Gr. Grandmother

The Neutral Ground

Life (and death) in the Lower Hudson Valley during the American Revolution…